Apple's iPhone Dominates US Smartphone Market in Q4

According to the latest report from research firm NPD (via The Next Web), Apple's portion of the US smartphone market grew to 42 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013. Samsung also received increased growth in handset sales year-over-year, while Motorola, HTC, and Blackberry saw a decline in market ownership.

Samsung's portion of US smartphone ownership increased to 26 percent in Q4 2013, up from 22 percent in Q4 2012. According to NPD, Apple maintained 35 percent of the market in Q4 2012.

The same report claims overall smartphone ownership in the United States has increased to 60 percent of cellular phone users--a jump of eight percent since the same period last year. Accordingly, one could assume as more people move over to smartphones, they are increasingly purchasing handsets from Apple and Samsung.